


Mirrors, Mirrors

by EdgeyWorthington



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 09:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23968885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdgeyWorthington/pseuds/EdgeyWorthington
Summary: Set in the Original Series continuity. Charmcaster shows Gwen examples of what might have been between them with mirrors that can gaze into alternate realities.
Relationships: Charmcaster/Gwen Tennyson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	Mirrors, Mirrors

"OK, Charmcaster. I'm here." Gwen Tennyson said as she approached her magical nemesis. "You calling me out for another fight?"

Charmcaster shook her head at her ten-year old rival and used her arm to gesture behind her, where three large mirrors were standing. "No, I wanted to show you these. They're magic mirrors I conjured that allow me to see into other realities. Y'know, just curious to see how alternate versions of me are doing."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Aaaand that concerns me why?"

"Just get over here and look!" Charmcaster snapped, prompting a sigh from Gwen as she walked over to the mirrors. 

The first mirror came to life. It showed visions of an older version of Charmcaster who had blue eyes, pointed ears, and let her long hair flow. This Charmcaster furiously sought to kill Gwen during their fights out of some deep-seated anger toward the younger girl, up until they had to team up in the mystical dimension that this reality's Charmcaster hailed from. They bonded, almost becoming friends, but it was all undone when this Charmcaster killed Gwen and 599,000 others in her realm in order to resurrect her dead father, Spellbinder. Spellbinder rejected a new life with his daughter, whose real name he revealed to be Hope, and returned to the afterlife in order to restore all the souls used to revive him...but not before crushing his daughter mentally and emotionally by calling her worse than the monster that had killed him. Hope was left all alone - broken, miserable, and empty, and while her reality's Gwen expressed pity for her, she made no attempt to help her recover either.

Once the mirror darkened again, Gwen turned to Charmcaster with an expression that seemed to encompass several conflicting emotions at once: anger, horror, sadness and confusion. "Why?" she asked. "Why show me this!?"

Charmcaster smirked as though enjoying Gwen's reaction, although her eyes betrayed that she held deeper emotions about the matter than she would care to express. "Just wanted to get your take on it, is all." 

"It was horrible!" Gwen exclaimed, "Th-that couldn't have been you and me! Why would that reality's you do something that excessively cruel, even after that reality's me had bonded with her and helped her out? And why would that reality's me NOT help her out afterward even when it's clear she so desperately needs it - if she can still feel pity for her even after what she did, then why would she just leave her there like that? I mean, come on! We're rivals, but we're not monsters to each other!"

"That was kinda my reaction too, when I first saw it." Charmcaster replied, "Although I think I was more put-off by that me's backstory. I was born in Zoaraster, not Ledgerdomain. I didn't know my father enough before he died to miss him, and even if I did I wouldn't kill a shit-ton of people to bring him back. And my name is NOT Hope!" 

While still feeling bad about what she'd borne witness to, Gwen managed to smile a little. "What is your name, then?"

"Charmcaster, duh!"

"Uh huh. Sure it is." Gwen rolled her eyes before asking "But don't you feel at least a little bad for her? Mass murder aside, what her dad said to her was pretty harsh."

"I guess." Charmcaster said, with a little uncertainty in her voice, "I just wish she wasn't an alternate version of me - after all, I don't like to wallow in self-pity, if you catch my drift."

"OK, so what about the other two mirrors?" Gwen asked.

The second mirror came to life. It showed visions of a Charmcaster who appeared to be the same age as the one in the previous mirror, and yet was styled far closer to the Charmcaster that Gwen knew, the one currently standing alongside her. This Charmcaster had a manic and crazy attitude, switching from bubbly and cheerful to angry and vengeful at the drop of a hat, and she clashed with a Gwen who was attending college...and one of her professors was Hex, who had reformed! In the end, this reality's Charmcaster was trapped inside her own magical bag, since while powerful she wasn't very competent, and Gwen promised to get her rehabilitated so that they could become friends.

"Wait just one minute!" Gwen objected, "Was that Charmcaster from Ledgerdomain and have all the same backstory as the previous one? But they look and act nothing alike!"

"Yeah, this reality is...weird." Charmcaster said with a shrug of her shoulders, "I don't know what that version of me was on, but I don't want any."

"And I don't want glasses either!" Gwen replied.

"Couldn't make you look like a bigger dweeb than you already are..." Charmcaster muttered under her breath.

"Also, Hex is that me's college professor!?" Gwen yelled in disbelief, "And yet that reality's you is still causing trouble!? That's bogus! I'd believe you reforming before he would!"

"Hey, Uncle Hex won't ever reform, but neither will I!" Charmcaster protested, "Being evil's way too much fun!"

"So I guess 'being friends under different circumstances' is out of the question for us?" Gwen replied cheekily.

"As if what we have together now could possibly be upgraded!" Charmcaster shot back with a laugh.

"OK, let's see that last mirror now." Gwen said.

The third and final mirror came to life. It showed visions of a Gwen who was also ten-years old and a Charmcaster who was a few years younger than the current one. This Charmcaster looked noticeably different in her style of hair and clothing, and she had yet another different background, having been a regular human girl named Heather who gained magic powers from a book. Like the Charmcaster from the first mirror, she was deeply angry with Gwen and wanted to kill her, and like the Charmcaster from the second mirror, she was prone to erratic mood swings and was something of an immature bumbler. 

"See, this version of me I can kinda get behind." Charmcaster remarked, "I'm mainly disappointed in the version of you she's trying so hard to beat."

"Huh? Why's that?" Gwen asked, a little offended.

"She's got no magic, and beyond that, no drive or passion! It almost seems like she's some pacifist doing her best to avoid fighting her reality's Charmcaster!" Charmcaster replied heatedly, "Can you imagine if you were like that? It wouldn't be any fun wasting my time on you if you weren't just as dedicated to fighting me as I am to fighting you!"

Gwen thought this over and conceded "Yeah, I guess you've got a point. People say I'm an overachiever, but that me is definitely an underachiever."

"So then," Charmcaster said with a smirk on her face, "Now do you see why I wanted to show these mirrors to you?"

There was a period of silence before Gwen replied "You wanted me to appreciate you and our relationship more?"

"Close!" Charmcaster replied as her smirk twisted into more of an evil grin, "I wanted you to appreciate me and our relationship more so that you don't pull any magical punches in our next fight, which starts right NOW!"

Gwen yelped and dodged a magic blast from Charmcaster before furiously exclaiming "What the heck!? I asked you straight away if you were calling me out for another fight and you said 'no'! You big liar!"

"And you wouldn't have me any other way!" Charmcaster said as she launched another attack at Gwen, which she countered with a spell on her own. The scenery around them was lit up with flashes blue and purple as their battle raged on. All was truly right with their world.


End file.
